Entertainment | Visual Arts
Darkness dispelled
Two mediums of art showcase a common theme - the triumph of the human spirit. Jagath Ravindra and Tarek Al Ghoussain exhibit their works in the UAE.
- By Jyoti Kalsi, Special To Weekend Review
- Published: 23:44 October 11, 2007
- Tarek Al Ghoussain is a Kuwaiti of Palestinian origin who has lived and worked in many places around the world.
- Image Credit:
Jagath Ravindra's paintings are visually stunning. His powerful strokes, vivid colours, perfectly balanced compositions and strong, resilient figures emanate an uplifting, positive vibe. At the same time, his canvasses are thought provoking and invite you to look deeper — beyond your surroundings and within yourself — for that inner strength that can overcome any situation. That is the essence of Fights Against Darkness, his latest exhibition at the XVA Gallery, Dubai.
"As a youngster I was deeply influenced by the socio-political turmoil in Sri Lanka. The torture of political activists in the late 1980s moved me to find a visual expression for not only my sadness and anger but also for the collective feelings of society around me. I saw my art as a means of peaceful resistance," Ravindra says.
Message of hope
"But, gradually, I realised that the darkness is not just outside. All human beings are also struggling with conflict within themselves. Everyday we must fight not just the socio-political situations around us but also the fears, doubts, conflicts, traumas and prejudices we harbour in our hearts and minds. I believe that we can overcome these feelings and have inside us the power to fight the darkness around and within us. That is the message I want to convey through these paintings."
The artist studied fine arts at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies at Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka, and is a visiting lecturer of aesthetic studies at the same university. He firmly believes that to convey its message, art must be visually appealing.
"By using aesthetic compositions and warm and cool colours, I try to make my paintings as beautiful as possible so that people are attracted to them. Because only when they stop and look will they discover the hidden figures and deeper message in my work."
Ravindra's message is clearly conveyed through his choice of colours and the stance of his figures. Even his darkest canvasses have splashes of yellow and orange forcefully breaking through the greys, blues and blacks. And his figures stand firm and upright, bathed in a warm light, often with arms and faces turned heavenwards.
"I never draw fallen figures. My paintings express my faith in mankind and my belief that whatever [our] problems, we have the ability to rise above them."
Yet the artist is philosophical about his role in society. "An artist has the capacity to edit and express the feelings of society through his work and be an instrument for change. But unfortunately, unlike art forms such as cinema, paintings reach a very small audience," he says. "I am happy to exhibit my work here because my message is global and Dubai gives me the opportunity to reach out to people of all nationalities."
Frames of light
Tarek Al Ghoussain's artistic journey is also a fight against darkness. It began as an expression of his concerns with issues of barriers, land, longing and belonging and has now evolved into a deeper exploration of issues of identity.
Al Ghoussain is a Kuwaiti of Palestinian origin who has lived and worked in many places around the world. He is at present an associate professor of photography in the School of Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah.
"I have looked at different aspects of identity through my earlier series of photographs. This latest series explores the transience, impermanence and fragility of life, time, place and identity," he says.
The artist has staged and composed the photographs, which are printed on rice paper to emphasise the theme of fragility. Rather than displaying the photographs on the walls, he has suspended them from the ceiling in an arrangement that tells a story. The central character in the story is a bright blue sheet.
As you walk through the installation, you first see the cloth fluttering in the breeze in the middle of the desert. It is later seen spread atop a Bedouin tent. Soon the artist appears in the photograph — a lonely, lost person seeking the comforting shield of the blue cloth. The story takes a sombre turn as you next see pieces of the torn and tattered blue cloth clinging to a fence running through the desert. Finally, all that is left of the once bright, robust canopy are tiny shreds buried in the endless grey dunes.
"The idea of the blue cloth came to me because everywhere in Dubai I see these blue sheets at construction sites," Al Ghoussain says. But while the sheet in his photographs is a symbol of cities and cultures in transition and the fragility of life, it is also a reminder that culture and traditions continue to live within people despite displacement.
"I have envied people who are tied to one place and have roots in their own land. But I also feel blessed to have travelled to many places. I realise change and transition are part of life and something that everyone must deal with."
Jyoti Kalsi is an independent writer based in Dubai.
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